Monday,
February 15, 2016
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Freshman Michelle Sidor scored 13 of her game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter for Saddle River Day, which earned a spot in its first-ever county final with a 52-40 win over Old Tappan. |
MAHWAH – Things have come pretty easy this season for Saddle River Day. Even against a top-notch opponent like Northern Valley/Old Tappan the Lady Rebels did what they have done to all but one opponent this season through the first quarter-and-a-half. The Rebels were smothering NV/OT into submission. With an 18-1 lead midway through the second quarter the question did not seem to be whether Saddle River Day would reach its first-ever Bergen County final, but just how much they would win by.
But as the game entered the final minutes, the momentum had completely shifted.
Old Tappan, the reigning North 1, Group 3 state sectional champ, showed the heart of a champion by scratching and clawing its way back in the game. With the school’s first-ever county final berth at stake the Rebels had to get back to basics and for them that means old-fashioned hard-nosed defense.
Seniors Dani McMahon, Kelly Hannigan, Carly Christofi, and Kayla Oge provided lockdown defense with freshman sensation Michelle Sidor providing the offensive firepower. She netted 13 of her game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter as third-seeded Saddle River Day advanced to the first Bergen County final in school history in any sport with a 52-40 win over No. 2 seed Northern Valley/Old Tappan in the Bergen County Tournament semifinals on Sunday at Ramapo College in Mahwah.
“We had great energy at the start of the game, but it fell off a little bit and we can’t do that against a team like Old Tappan,” said Sidor. “They went on a few big runs but our energy picked back up when we needed it. We learned a lesson from this game and we can’t turn that energy on and off. I think we’re going to step up and play better from now on. We have a lot of seniors who really want this and we’ll be ready to keep this going.
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Sophomore Alex George helpled Old Tappan get back in the game after a huge early deficit. |
To say Saddle River Day set the tone was an understatement as the Golden Knights struggled just to get into an offense let alone score in a half-court set.
Back-to-back turnovers led to baskets from Sidor and Christofi as the Rebels grabbed a 12-1 lead after one quarter. The lead grew to 17 points on a Sidor steal and layup, but the Golden Knights settled down late in the second quarter. Six-foot-1 sophomore center Alex George scored OT’s first field goal at the 4:00 mark of the second quarter then converted a 3-point play in the final minute to get the deficit down to a more manageable 12 points by halftime, 22-10.
“I thought we were playing fast and doing all the little things early on, but we had stretches where we didn’t execute at all,” said Saddle River Day head coach Danny Brown. “We got flat late second quarter and it carried over into the third quarter. This is a great game for us though to show our kids on tape exactly when our energy did and when Old Tappan’s energy picked up. If you leave the door open with bad decisions or empty possessions, good teams will find ways to make runs on you and that’s what got us in some trouble.”
The Golden Knights’ confidence grew in the third quarter as four-year starting point guard Emily Crevani scored on a driving layup to slice the once 17-point lead all the way down to four, 31-27, heading into the final eight minutes.
Saddle River Day twice opened up double-digit leads only to watch Old Tappan cut it down to five. Kailyn Systma hit a 3-pointer and Crevani scored to cut the SRD lead back down to five with just over a minute remaining and the ball with the chance to make it a one-possession game. After a miss, McMahon got the outlet pass to Sidor. The 5-foot-7 guard went the length of the floor for a layup and the foul. She converted the 3-point play to make it 48-40 with 1:10 to play and essentially sealed up the win.
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Carly Christofi and Saddle River Day will look for the school's first ever county title in any sport in next week's final against Immaculate Conception. |
“We fought hard to get back in a position to make a run at it but we dug ourselves too big of a hole in the first half,” said Northern Valley/Old Tappan head coach Brian Dunn. “You have to get up the court vertically against them, not horizontally or it’s a turnover and a layup. We were able to erase most of that deficit but we couldn’t get that one big play to cut it to two or three points.”
Sidor finished with 26 points and four steals for Saddle River Day (20-1). Christofi played well on both ends of the floor throughout and finished with 12 points.
Crevani and George each finished with 11 points for Northern Valley/Old Tappan (17-4). Maia Levenshus chipped in with seven points.
After falling short in the Bergen County semifinals last year, Saddle River Day got over the hump and is now one step away from a county championship. For the Rebels’ six seniors, being in a position to win a county title was the goal since they were freshmen. Facing top-seeded Immaculate Conception is no easy task, but the Rebels are undaunted by the challenge.
“I think all of the seniors here feel the way I feel, we’re not leaving high school with another loss in the county tournament, we want the title,” said Christofi. “We’ve been working for this ever since we got here and we can’t wait to play the game next week.”
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